by Katie Frederick,
Ladies Who Launch member, Orange County, CA

Reconsidering that trip to Europe this summer? Don’t! There are plenty of ways to save money while actually enhancing your experience.

There are two distinctly different ways to travel Europe. You can run from one museum to the next, crossing off sights on a checklist, or you can relax and enjoy the beautiful city you are in. This way you will truly enjoy your vacation, spend less money, and see the city through the eyes of the locals. Here are some tips on how to do this:

1. Rent an apartment instead of staying in a hotel. There are many vacation apartment rentals that can be rented by the night or by the week. These are less expensive than hotels, and the owner of the apartment meets you there. Take this time to ask them questions about their city and find out about their favorite things to do. A few of my favorites are Cocoonbarcelona.com, Cross-pollinate.com, and Realrome.com. To find more, just Google the name of the city you are visiting and “vacation apartment rental.”

2. Pick and choose the “tourist” activities to do. The admission prices can add up quickly, and there is so much more to see of a city than the inside of its museums. Decide ahead of time which activities you want to do and check to see if there is one day of the week that is free. Just make sure to go early on these days because there will likely be a large crowd.

3. Make friends with locals. Ask them what they like to do. There are plenty of fun things to do in cities that don’t require standing in long lines and buying expensive tickets. You will also have a much greater cultural experience doing the activities locals like doing.

4. Do some homework before you go. Research tipping standards. Americans tip far more than Europeans do. Also find out how to tell if the tip is included in your bill. It might say it on the check, but if you don’t know the language this doesn’t help you. Call your credit- and debit-card companies and find out what charges there will be. Credit cards typically have a foreign currency charge, meaning you will be charged every time you use the card. If this is the case, it is best to get cash using your debit card. This way you will only be charged the ATM fee once rather than being charged for every purchase you make.

5. Don’t eat out for every meal. If you stay in an apartment, use your kitchen. It is also fun to shop at a grocery store or go to an outdoor farmers market to pick up bread, cheese, meat, fruit, and wine to make a picnic. One of my favorite meals in Paris was a picnic we made in the park next to the Eiffel Tower.

6. When you do go out to eat, go to more residential areas. They typically have better food and are less expensive. Ask about specials. Be careful going to a restaurant with a great review in a guidebook. These restaurants become very popular with tourists and the restaurants will oftentimes increase prices.

7. Research budget airlines when visiting multiple cities in Europe. Europe has a lot of these, and if you buy the flights ahead of time you can find amazing deals. I flew from London to Dublin for $20 including all taxes. The two most popular airlines are at Easyjet.com and Ryanair.com. If these airlines don’t fly the route you are looking for, go to Whichbudget.com to see which airlines do.

8. When looking for flights to Europe, be as flexible as possible with dates and airports. My favorite site for searching flights is Kayak.com. If flights to your destination are very expensive, look into a roundtrip flight into London. These are usually the least expensive flights to Europe. From there you can fly to your final destination. If you can’t find a budget flight out of the airport you are flying into, you can take a bus to another nearby London area airport. Buses are lined up right outside all London airports and they depart very frequently. To check times, search on Nationalexpress.com, and just buy tickets when you are there.

9. Research public transportation ahead of time. Getting from airports into cities is very easy and affordable. It will be much easier to do if you pack light. See if there are any multi-day public transportation passes you could buy if you will be in a city for more than one day.

10. Take the whole picture into account. When traveling between cities, calculate the actual time and cost of both a train and a plane. Train stations are typically very close to the city center, while the airports that budget airlines use are often very far from the city. Make sure public transportation is running if you are taking an early flight. What can seem like a great deal on a flight can get very expensive if you have to take a taxi to the airport.

Katie Frederick is a member of the Orange County, CA, Incubator and the founder of Easy Euro Trip.